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Another chance to make basketball history

Students, you’ve got a chance to make history this week. This Saturday, the Irish host number one ranked and 20-0 Syracuse at 6 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Did you know that Notre Dame basketball ranks ninth in all-time wins? That’s not a typo. You might also not know that the Irish have a history of being giant killers, knocking off an unbeaten or top-ranked team 12 times. One of the most memorable of these moments came in 1977 when the Irish upset 29-0 San Francisco. The game was also noteworthy because NBC named the ND student section MVP for its unending chant of “29-and-one” throughout the game.

The most recent upset happened in 2005, when 20-0 Boston College came to town. The Eagles were greeted by several hundred students, who arrived an hour before tipoff to chant “20-and-one” for all of warm-ups and most of the game as well. Boston College left town 20-1. There’s a plaque commemorating that victory outside section 111 of the Joyce Center. If you’re in the building this week, stop by to see it, and ask yourself if you want to help with upset number 13.